Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced on Friday plans for a ticketed event to view what is being called the Great American Total Eclipse from the highest point in the park. The GSMNP also will have viewing sites at Cades Cove and Oconalufteee.

The event will include featured speakers and storytellers to help explain the science and cultural connection of the eclipse.

Clingmans Dome will be closed to vehicle traffic and the parking lot will be converted into a special events site that will include a Jumbotron screen set up to participate in a national NASA TV broadcast. There will also be telescopes, educational exhibits and a stage for feature speakers.

"We are thrilled that the park lies within the narrow viewing band of this spectacular, natural phenomenon," Deputy Superintendent Clay Jordan said. "I am thrilled to view my first total eclipse from the top of the Smokies in the company of a passionate group of visitors."

Beginning Wednesday, tickets will be available to purchase through www.recreation.gov for $30 each. You must have a ticket to attend the Clingmans Dome event. Participants will be shuttled in buses from Gatlinburg and Cherokee, N.C.

The sun is expected to be partially obscured by the moon over a three-hour period that afternoon, and totally obscured for a shorter time.

Several park roads, including Newfound Gap Road, may be closed during the day depending on traffic congestion.